At the 2018 Golden Track Awards in Lausanne, Switzerland, Duplantis was the co-recipient of the “Men’s Rising Star” award, along with middle-distance runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen. “It was an honor, and it was great to be recognized,” Duplantis said. “It was an extra little bonus to a good season.”
This summer, Duplantis won the World Junior Championships, where he set a championship record (5.82 meters), and he won the gold medal at the 2018 European Championships with 6.05 meters, smashing his own world junior record, and setting a world-leading mark. “My mind kind of just went blank,” he said, following his 6.05 meter clearance. “Everything worked out that day. Everything was just perfect and everything fell into place. It was a great way to end my season,” he said.
The 19-year-old added, “I hope to keep improving and to jump higher in the future.”
Most recently, Duplantis was recognized as “Rising Star” at the IAAF World Athlete of the Year Awards. “The IAAF ‘Rising Star’ award meant a little more just because it was from a world standpoint,” he admitted. “That was pretty crazy. I was not really expecting that. It was really an honor to be in the Top five for the ‘IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year’ nominees. It was cool to be nominated with several world record holders.”
Speaking of the “Rising Star” award at the IAAF World Athlete of the Year Awards, Duplantis acknowledged that it meant more to him because it was presented to him by pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie. “I was totally surprised since I don’t think he told anybody,” he said. “It was pretty surreal.”
Another proud moment was Duplantis winning the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm this year, which marked his first win at the Diamond League level. “It meant a lot since I had so much family and friends there that were watching,” he said. “A lot of my mom’s friends and my friends were there watching. It was my first big meet win,” he recalled. “Stockholm was a great confidence booster for the rest of the summer.”
Duplantis has embarked in his first year of college at the Louisiana State University, and he shared that training is going well. “It’s good. It’s a lot different not living at home,” he said.
He is focusing on the NCAA Championships, and he is looking forward to the 2019 IAAF World Championships. “It’s a World Championship year, so I have that at the back of my mind, of course,” he said.
For young pole vaulters, he noted that pole vaulting is a “very complicated sport.” “It takes a long time to master it. I still don’t think that I’ve mastered it. Patience is a big key component in pole vaulting. Be patient and although you might not have a personal record in every meet, it is important to know that you are improving technically, physically and mentally,” he said.
Duplantis defined the word success as “improving himself.” “That’s succeeding to me,” he explained.
To learn more about Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, follow him on Instagram and on Twitter.
